CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION ENTERS INTO SETTLEMENTS
WITH 15 HOME BUILDERS

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that
his Consumer Protection Division has entered into settlement
agreements
with 15 home builders who have agreed to pay a total of $23,000
in penalties to settle allegations that they violated building
laws including operating without being registered with the state’s
Home Builder Registration Unit or not providing required protection
for consumer deposits.

"
Under Maryland law, home builders must be registered before they
can enter into contracts to build homes for consumers," Curran
said. "Builders must also protect advance payments made by
consumers through an escrow account or by posting a surety bond
or letter of credit with the Consumer Protection Division."

Curran encouraged new home buyers to check whether their builder
is registered by contacting the Division’s Home Builder Registration
Unit at (410) 576-6573 or toll-free at (877) 259-4525, or by visiting
the Attorney General’s website at www.oag.state.md.us/homebuilder.

Each of these companies entered into a settlement agreement with
the Division, prohibiting it from acting as a home builder in
the state unless registered with the Home Builder Registration
Unit.
The settlements also require the builders to comply with other
Maryland laws governing home builders, including the laws requiring
protection of consumer deposits and other advance payments. The
companies also agreed to submit to arbitration consumer complaints
that cannot be resolved through mediation, using the Division’s
arbitration program.

The Division settled with the following builders to resolve allegations
that they failed to place consumer deposits in escrow accounts
or protect them with a surety bond or letter of credit: